On the evening of August 3, as I left my office in the centre of the capital city Bujumbura, I barely saw the motorbike in front of me before the bullets shattered my windscreen and I was shot directly in the face.

Less than two weeks before the attempt on my life, the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, claimed victory in an election that was marred by violence and intimidation of the opposition, rights activists, journalists and voters themselves.

I am no stranger to the peculiarities of Burundian democracy. As an active citizen, over the past 20 years, I have been harassed, threatened, arrested, imprisoned and beaten by the authorities. In Burundi, the exercise of democracy often means these things.

As a human-rights activist, I openly condemned the electoral process, the president and the result. The United Nations and the African Union also declared that the ballot was neither free nor fair! Still, the bullet was my reward for exercising my democratic duty.

When Nkurunzinza announced that he would seek a third term in office — violating both the Constitution and the Arusha Peace Accords that brought peace to my country after a decade of conflict — widespread protests prompted new levels of government repression, human-rights abuses and a crackdown on civil society.

The violence forced many members of Burundi’s political opposition, independent journalists and human-rights defenders to flee the country. They fled for good reason. It is a miracle that my own decision to remain in Burundi did not cost me my life. But what is a democracy without political dissent, a free media to report that dissent or people to defend the right to express it?

While I am lucky to be alive, I fear for my friends, family and compatriots still in Burundi, where targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, harassment and torture have become commonplace. If current trends continue, it is possible that violence will spiral out of control.

Our region is a volatile one; civil unrest in Burundi could see the entire Great Lakes region go up in flames again.

Yet the international response to Burundi’s crisis continues to be disjointed and inadequate. The East African Community of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda seem paralysed by their rivalries and disagreements. Mediation efforts led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni have so far been unsuccessful.

Not nearly enough pressure has been put on the government of Burundi to respect human rights, the rule of law and basic freedoms. There is no justice awaiting individuals who commit serious abuses, including targeted attacks and extrajudicial killings.

No justice for the protestors who became victims of excessive force by the police. No justice even for political prisoners being tortured by the so-called security services.

I am now writing from the safety of a hospital bed in Brussels, receiving care for my gunshot wounds. I had no choice but to leave the country of my birth and the attempt on my life has left me no choice but to continue the struggle miles away from home. Who can save Burundi, I ask myself every day.

Urgent action from the East African Community is key to saving my motherland from further violence. On behalf of the region, this is an opportunity for the EAC to demonstrate its ability to deliver a solution to this political crisis by protecting the civil liberties of all those who continue to be affected.

The EAC must act as its brother’s keeper by compelling the Burundian government to end human-rights violations, bring perpetrators of crimes to justice and re-establish the rule of law.

At this point it is not business as usual and this is the time for the EAC to boldly demonstrate leadership. In Burundi, we have a saying: “An elephant does not get tired of carrying its tusks.”

Today Burundi is burning while the world is watching. The EAC must not forget Burundi!

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is the president of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH). A modified version of this article appears on the UK Guardian website