A passion for filmmaking that turned into an impactful business.

Aswar didn’t have many male role models growing up, so he turned to movies to do is best to learn about the world as a man. Endless hours at the Riverview Theater in South Minneapolis turned into a passion for filmmaking.

While at the University of Minnesota, Aswar won awards for his short films. He pivoted to feature filmmaking, and started the first feature film collective in Minnesota, Cineapolis. 

With his family still reeling from the Great Recession, Aswar needed to earn, and so he put his filmmaking ability to business use, making videos for a wide range of companies, from small Minneapolis nonprofits, all the way up to massive companies like Honda. Business was good.

(Here’s Aswar’s current filmography on IMDb.)

The first Trump catastrophe, and turning to electoral politics.

When Donald Trump first started making headlines for his attacks on Americans from Muslim-majority countries, Aswar got mobilized. When Trump came to Minnesota for his first big rally, Aswar was among the handful of people who went out to protest. (Here is an MPR article from the day — in a photo in the article, Aswar is holding an American flag that he borrowed from his friend’s dad on the way to protest.)

When Trump was elected, Aswar made a vow to his then-girlfriend (now-wife) Rachel that he would do something — anything — to fight back.

Aswar knew that electoral politics allowed this to happen, and that would be where the big struggle would need to happen. So, he assembled his company staff and informed them that rather than focusing on corporate and nonprofit work, we would be focusing on getting Democrats elected.

A calling to help Ukraine.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shook Aswar to his core. When he heard that schoolteachers were picking up guns to defend Kyiv against a murderous army, he couldn’t sleep, thinking of the courage of these people, and the price they would undoubtedly have to pay — and the service they were doing for freedom in the world by standing up to these monsters.

There was also news of abuse in the refugee crisis that this invasion created. Millions of Ukrainians — mainly moms and their kids and grandparents — were fleeing the Russian onslaught in the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Many of them, desperate for safety, accepted help from shadowy figures waiting for them at the Polish border. Many of those who accepted help haven’t been heard from since.

Standing on Santa Monica Pier, Aswar decided that doing nothing was not an option. He got his gear together, bought a good pair of waterproof boots, and got on the next flight to Poland. He drove down to the main border crossing with Ukraine and, seeing the massive stream of refugees at the border, got right to work.

First, Aswar simply carried bags. Many of the refugees were on the edge of collapse from exhaustion, especially the elderly who had been traveling with little food, water, medicine, and hope of seeing their homes ever again. For eight hours a day, Aswar would carry bags at the border, and then go to his small rented room in the nearest town to continue leading his business.

Aswar’s consistency and effort got the attention of humanitarian groups looking to bring order to the chaotic camp receiving this flow of refugees. First, he helped build medical clinics at the crossing. When word got out that Aswar did digital for the Democrats, he was assigned a new task: designing for the entirety of the camp. 

Through rapid graphic design and mapmaking, Aswar was able to help get this Polish-side camp in order. The thousands of refugees arriving every day were greeted with a disciplined system that got medical attention to those who needed it, baby-care services to moms, and transportation and shelter options to all arrivals, whether they had any connections in Poland or not.

Word of Aswar’s work on the Polish side of the crossing got to the humanitarian workers on the Ukrainian side of the crossing, where the need was exponentially greater. So, with Rachel’s permission, Aswar crossed the border into Ukraine, at a time when Russian troops were on the verge of capturing Kyiv.

An unintentional refugee resettlement expert.

Aswar flew back to America that summer, to prepare the landing spot for the Ukrainians on their way through the office in Lviv. Very quickly, he saw that the refugee reception and resettlement system in the United States was extremely fragile, if not already broken.

The core problem he saw was that newcomers, in general, were treated like unthinking children. But the Ukrainians he had met in Lviv whose homes were now under Russian occupation seemed to him to be some of the smartest and hardest working people he had ever met. Aswar went with his gut — he treated the newcomers with the assumption that they could do what his mom did when she came to America with two little kids in tow. He set up English language education programs at his Lviv office, along with drivers license test education, and cultural lessons, covering everything from Americans’ propensity to smile to how to deal with law enforcement.

When Ukrainians arrived in Minnesota, Aswar’s team had job interviews already lined up for them, along with carpool systems, and appointments to go to the bank to set up their own checking accounts. Respect and dignity was the through-line in all of the work of the American Service in Ukraine. And, surprising to many, it worked.

Aswar’s Ukrainians had a near 100% success rate when measured by self-sufficiency. Some newcomers, of course, struggled — they had gone through one of the worst losses a human being can experience: the loss of their home and, in many case, loved ones — but they had a path forward, and place to turn their struggle into a better life.

Heartbroken and on the verge of bankruptcy.

The success of Aswar’s refugee resettlement program led to federal and agency requests for help with newcomers from other countries, mainly Haiti, Venezuela, and Guatemala. Aswar saw the results of what happens when people are not welcomed with the respect and dignity. Many families had been living in urban shelters for over a year, with no end in sight. Many were convinced that there was a perfect welfare system that would provide for them, and were not told about the often harsh realities of a market economy like ours. No priority had been given to English education or job training. 

In New York City, Aswar launched an asylum application system to get newcomers there on a legal pathway. The conditions there were even worse, with pest-infested motels filled with people who were essentially abandoned, in a place as tough as New York City, no less.

These experiences took a great toll on Aswar. The vast majority of Latin American families coming into the program that was designed for Ukrainian refugees still gained success, but the failure rate started creeping up. Aswar poured his personal funds into supporting the families that were unable to adjust to working life, especially after over a year in the shelter — and families that were heartbreakingly disillusioned by America.

As refugee and humanitarian numbers settled, Aswar found himself on the brink of bankruptcy. His business had taken a major hit. He had personally supported too many families with their rent and transportation expenses. Donor and government support that was promised came later and later, and in certain cases stopped altogether.

After three years, having directly and indirectly resettled thousands of refugees, and not having the money needed to pay for his wedding and having his car reposessed, Aswar decided it was time to step back, and focus on rebuilding his own strength.