For Masange Runezerwa, Tuesday was filled with mourning.
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Mr Runezerwa was one of the many Congolese refugees who got up in the cold of 3am to drive to Canberra and draw attention to the "silent genocide" happening in their home country.
Mr Runezerwa said that his tribe, the Banyamulenge people, have been under attack for years, as neighbouring tribes, supported by the Democratic Republic of the Congo's government, waged war on the minority group.
"They're killing our people every single day," he said.
"The kids, the mums, they're being raped, the women and older generation.
"I have brothers and sisters who are there, even now they're being killed.
Mr Runezerwa, has been a Wodonga resident for nearly 10 years, located on the Victorian border with NSW.
He said the Congolese community gathered at Parliament House on Tuesday with about 36 Banyamulenge people from Albury Wodonga and another 100 from towns across NSW and Victoria to create awareness around the issue.
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"We're not harming anyone, we're just here to peacefully raise our voice," he said.
"As you can hear it, everyone of them are crying.
"The women, the kids, every type of person who is here, they mourn because they lost their loved ones with no reason."
"We have never seen any reaction," he said.
"People have been reported to the United Nations, but the thing is, nothing has happened.
"We're still waiting, that's why we came."
He said he hoped the gathering would make people interested in what was happening in the DRC.
"People might see us on the road, how we cry, how we're mourning," he said.
"We just want to raise our voice.
"Maybe someone can hear our mourning or our broken hearts."
Mr Runezerwa said he was planning on meeting with Indi MP Helen Haines to see if she would advocate for the group.
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