diff --git a/extra/libevent/Makefile.am b/extra/libevent/Makefile.am
index 702c07c6eeb..1c9066c3122 100644
--- a/extra/libevent/Makefile.am
+++ b/extra/libevent/Makefile.am
@@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ event-config.h: $(top_builddir)/include/config.h
 	    -e 's/#ifndef /#ifndef _EVENT_/' < $(top_builddir)/include/config.h >> $@
 	echo "#endif" >> $@
 
-AM_CPPFLAGS = -Icompat -I$(top_srcdir)/include
+AM_CPPFLAGS = -I$(srcdir)/compat -I$(top_srcdir)/include