Men, women and children are being rounded up and killed in Ethiopia.

Violence has plagued the sub-Saharan country since a disputed election in May, but the level of death and destruction have increased sharply in recent days.

According to the BBC, nearly 50 people were killed by government forces over the weekend, and the European Union and the United States have called upon the government and opposition party leaders to end the fighting.

In a joint statement released Sunday, the European and American ambassadors advised the Ethiopian government to end its policy of mass arrests, random beatings and political detentions, and to allow independent media to reopen.

Despite the somber tone of the advisory, the true horror of what’s going on in Ethiopia has escaped notice in much of the Western world, including the United States.

Karen Hoehn, an American working with Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevolkerung, the German Foundation for World Population, was in the country last week. Here’s what she saw:

“I came home from Addis Ababa last night, two days earlier than planned. It’s a very sad situation there. The government has been pulling people (e.g., university professors, an NGO program officer) out of their homes and imprisoning them or shooting them dead because they have different political views (e.g., want freedom of the press, elections without fraud, etc.). One woman was shot dead because she cried out, “Why are you taking him?” Kids have been shot in the back when trying to run away from danger.”

On the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Hoehn’s vehicle was stopped at gunpoint by the Ethiopian military. Before being allowed to continue, Hoehn could hear gunfire from inside a prison nearby. The government was shooting men in the prison, possibly some of the political prisoners who have sought clean elections and a free press.

There are many places in this world shattered by violence, where reformers are seeking what we take for granted in the United States. Perhaps if we had a better understanding of the sacrifices others make for the right to vote, perhaps we wouldn’t let our own opportunity to participate pass so nonchalantly.