Faizah Shaheen: "Syria speaks and will be heard."

After a flight home from Turkey earlier this month, British-native Faizah Shaheen was pulled aside for questioning.

Apparently, a cabin-crew member noticed "suspicious behaviour."

Shaheen was questioned for about half an hour under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. She was hurt and humiliated.

All because she was reading a book.

The book in question is Syria Speaks: Arts and Culture from the Frontline, an award-winning collection of art by Syrian artists and activists.

Today on q guest host Piya Chattopadhyay chats with Shaheen and Malu Halasa, co-editor of the collection.

The anthology, that includes prison memoirs, rap lyrics and activist posters, documents the creative explosion in Syria, according to Halasa.

"These are the people you don't see on the evening news." 

Since news of Shaheen's incident at the airport, sales of the book have skyrocketed.

For Hasala, it's bittersweet that the book rose to prominence due to a misunderstanding. It doesn't change the fact that there are still hungry children in Syria, violence is still raging and humanitarian efforts can't reach the people.

"Syria remains that place where indifference has allowed this violence to continue at such a pace," she says.