The plight of Syrians is becoming increasingly irrelevant to Western politicians, as reflected in their demonstrable lack of interest in pushing for a settlement to the conflict.

When we took to the streets of Syria shouting “Herrieh, herrieh!” (Freedom, freedom!) in 2011, we had no expectations from Assad’s allies, given their miserable human rights record. We had our eyes on the West.

We were naive.

While civilians were being killed on the streets, the West was "condemning" the situation and imposing economic sanctions, but no force compelled Assad not to use force against us.

The regime continued its violent crackdown under Sino-Russian political cover and Iranian military support, forcing many Syrians to resort to violence and giving Assad his justification to use violence on a massive scale under the pretext that he was swarming off terrorism. The level of violence and the abandonment of the Syrian people by the international community further fueled the rise of extremist groups, who were viewed by some Syrians opposing Assad as the only factions determined enough to stand a chance against the regime.

In light of the backing Assad receives from Russia, Iran, and China, in addition to the veritable absence of powerful secular opposition groups, Western leaders viewed Syria as an issue to be contained, not resolved.

The continued misery of Syrians and the policy of disengaging from the conflict fed into the lack of public interest in the West. After all, the news covers what’s new and relevant.

Syria’s fall into irrelevance for the West is a very emotional topic for me, as it is for most Syrians opposed to the criminal al-Assad regime. This might mean that I got it wrong in this op-ed for Al-Jumhuriya English. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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