When Joseph Taylor joined Assyrian protesters from Fairfield to demand the Australian Government help persecuted Christians in Iraq, he was not prepared for the tragic news that lay ahead. He was one of the hundreds of protesters bearing crucifixes and photos of murdered children who descended upon Martin Place to re-enact the slaughter of 58 Christians in Baghdad last month. The Christians were celebrating evening mass when their Syriac Catholic church was stormed by al-Qa'ida-linked militants. During the protest Mr Taylor was delivered the grim news that one of his relatives had been gunned down in Mosul, Iraq. "While we were there someone announced on the megaphone that people in Mosul had died and then an hour later I found out they were my aunty's first cousins," he said. "It was a very big shock that it hits so close to home, but it's expected. "But the big shock was the way it happened. They knocked on the door and they blew him to bits with guns - it's just crazy what is going on. It was very emotional, women were crying because we know that all these people want is peace and no one is paying attention to them so what are we supposed to do?" Mr Taylor, of Hoxton Park, said the people were dreading Christmas and predicted a "massive culling" of Christians. "They either kill you on the spot or they kick you out or force conversion," he said. "They never convert so they always die, they always kill them. "We just want protection for our people, they are the indigenous people of the country." Black March organiser, Ninva Yakou, of Bonnyrigg Heights, said she wanted the Australian Government to work with the Iraqi Government to secure some protection for her people. "It's a genocide that's happening to our people in Iraq, we are all devastated." she said. "We are going to continue to do more things to raise awareness. We have had a lot of support from the Fairfield community."