Manuel, the refugee

I met Manuel in a odd way. A few days ago i saw him standing near my office, which is located in a building downtown Sao Paulo. We looked at each other, and i instantaneously knew that the supreme intelligence had put this man in my life for a reason. I decided to talk to that quiet and sober man.
At first i thought he was brazilian, but i was wrong.

-- Hello there, how are ya?

Then his european-portuguese accent ratted him out:
-- I am fine, and you?
-- Whoa i'm fine too, thanks. You're not from here i notice? Where are you from?
-- Cape Verde. Do you know?
-- Of course i do. Nice to have you here man. I saw on the news what happened there, too bad, too bad.
-- Yes. My whole family died on the conflicts. They were murdered when the militia took over the town. I wasn't there, i was traveling, so i escaped.
-- Oh, i'm sorry.
I never know what to say to someone who tells me he lost a beloved one. I tried to cheer him up by changing the tone of my voice, so he would feel he's welcome. By the way, let me explain a bit what's going on.

Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony, and it's located near the African coast. I don't know much about what was going on there, all i know Manuel told me.
Almost the whole country is suffering ReDs. The local authorities tried to contain the syndrome by closing Manuel's city, Curral Velho.
He told me that his village was being used as a hub. Therefore, when the authorities decided to close the city to contain the ReDs, the dealers saw that they were going to loose their businness, and then decided to declare war against the authorities. A lot of lives were lost, including Manuel's daughter, wife, son and dog's lives. Unfortunately.

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I was wondering why Manuel was on the streets. By then, i figured out he was a refugee, but damn, the Brazilian government was part of the UN refugee programme, and every participant nation signed an agreement where said that the nation should provide the refugees with all legal issues and to provide them a house too. Brazil traded carbon offsets for low-cost houses with some European countries, like Finland, Denmark and Holland; so, housing should not be a problem for Manuel.

-- And where do you live man?
-- I live on the streets. I sleep where they let me sleep, i eat what they give me. Sometimes i eat, sometimes i don't.
-- That's too bad. Why did you come to Brazil?
And then he told me about he being a refugee; and he told me more: he's on the country ilegally. That's why he couldn't get the house, and couldn't get anything else. He was officialy no one, just one more guy on the streets, getting insulted and humiliated on a daily basis.
I knew right away that i should do something do bring a little bit of relieve to that man's life. That's when i asked him:
-- Are you hungry?
-- I am, a lot.
-- Okay, what's your name?
-- Manuel, and yours?
-- Jorge. I'm glad to meet you Manuel.
-- Likewise.
-- So, wanna grab a bite?
He smiled, and i saw hope in his eyes:
-- Oooh no, you don't have to!
-- I want to! C'mon, let's eat. I'm hungry too.
-- No, no, no. Please, don't.
-- Manuel, listen...i'm hungry, and i suppose you are too. Can we just go have some food?
And we headed to my favorite lunchtime restaurant.
They're still serving full-meals, even if overpriced a bit, just like in 2008.

After lunch i had to go to the office, but first i wanted to make sure that Manuel was going to be okay.

-- Manuel, do you need anything man? Is there anything i can do for you?
-- No, no, thank you. You already bought me lunch, i don't wanna bother you anymore.
Right away i noticed he was trying to tell me something, but didn't want to. I tried to analyze him, to see what he could be possibly in need of. That's when i noticed he wasn't carrying a bag, or anything like a bag.
-- Where's your bag?
-- I don't have one, why?
-- What do you mean you don't have a bag? Where are your clothes, your belongings?
-- I have none.
-- Why not, what happened?
-- Someone stole it while i was sleeping. I didn't even see who stole it.
-- Not good Manuel, not good. You don't even have any clothes?
-- What i'm wearing is all i have.
-- When did you change your clothes for the last time?
-- A month and a half ago.
His eyes got full of tears, and so did mine.
-- ...okay. Know what? Tomorrow i'll bring you some clothes. Don't go anywhere. I get here around 10pm, so be here, right here on this very spot, and i'll give you something to wear.

We said goodbye to each other, i got into the office building, and my day of work started.