During the peak hours of lunchtime last Wednesday, in front of the bookstore, a man dashed person-to-person in hopes that the scurrying students would stop their trek and sign the petitions he had neatly stacked on clipboards.
Taped to the front of his four-legged table were two laminated colored print-outs. The yellow one read “SIGN HERE NOW! 90% OF HEALTH CLINICS INCOME SHOULD GO TO CLINIC SERVICES! SIGN HERE NOW!” while the orange sheet to its left read “SIGN HERE NOW! TO TAX BILLIONAIRS!”.
He donned black boots and black jeans, a green-and-brown-patterned short-sleeve button-up with a straw beach hat atop his head which sprouted long, thick, and dark salt and pepper hair from all sides.
Zafar Mahmood is a jeweler posted across the street from UC Berkeley and has been for four decades, but he originally hails from Southern California.
“I grew up in West L.A.,” Mahmood recalled.
Before moving to the United States, and after being born in Burma, present-day Myanmar, Mahmood spent time in both Thailand and Pakistan in his younger days.
Being 43 minutes away from his usual vending spot, Mahmood attributed his presence at Solano to his established time selling his jewelry in front of UC Berkeley, a university known for its progressive charm.
“I’m more for the people in the community…not for the high-end people, corporations, and all that stuff,” Mahmood said.
He also stated that he’s out campaigning because awareness of social conditions among the youth is at the top of his priority list.
“I want to show them that, you know, they should pay attention to know what these initiatives are. And when we don’t vote on these initiatives…we pay the price later on, somehow,” he explained.
Mahmood believes that if people don’t vote on the initiatives they think benefit them the most, then “[the] government can make their own decision[s],”
“These issues have to go out in front of the public, ” he stated.
Politics aside, Mahmood stated that being a jeweler has been financially challenging compared to “normal” full-time employment, even with his 40-year tapestry of making his own products. But he’s also found it rewarding.
“I have to create my own living, you know what I mean?…it’s a struggle but I love what I do,”
When asked, Mahmood stated that he chose Solano because students here “take interest” and are “more aware” of issues today.
“[At] a lot of other places, people won’t take interest. They’re not interested in voting. They’re not interested in anything. ‘Leave me alone.’”
