Tongan leaders in Auckland are taking the city's gang crisis into their own hands.
They say too many of their people are involved and are planning to meet some this Friday.
It comes ahead of the Kiwis-Tonga rugby league clash next week.
Even on a cold Auckland day, Tongan flags are flying high. Houses too are turning red, and so are fence-posts across the city. That's because next week, Mate Ma'a Tonga (MMT) is back in town.
But much has changed in Auckland since the Kiwis-Tonga match back in 2017. Across the city gang tensions are high with countless drive-by shooting incidents in recent weeks.
Tongan leaders are now determined those involved don't create trouble during next week's festivities.
"People are getting hurt, people are getting scared, you know. This is your mum, your dad, your aunty, this is your grandparents. Think about it," said the secretary of the Aotearoa Tongan Health Workers Association, Pakilau Manase Lua.
The gang problem is in no way a Tongan problem. Despite that, its community leaders say many of their young people are involved. They've now called a community meeting - without police - this Friday and expect some gang members to attend.
"Young people will do all the talking, we'll listen, because a lot of what's happening on the ground we're concerned with and ahead of the MMT game we don't want to have our families and our communities going out into an unsafe environment," said Lua.
In recent weeks, some leaders have remained relatively quiet on the issue of gang violence. But they say they are sick and tired of hearing academics talk about communities they haven't lived in.
"If you really just have a look at it, they haven't really experienced some of the stuff we have experienced - what it's like to live with no money, you know," said the chair of NZ's Tonga Advisory Council, Melino Maka.
Maka knows this problem is complex, but said the ball has been dropped. Many head down the path of gang membership, he said, because times are tough.
"The cost of living at the moment is really accelerating the social problem, you know. The Government is looking the other way and even the local government is looking the other way."
The Kiwis play Tonga at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium next Saturday night. It's sure to be a big match on the field. Everyone's also hoping supporters on both sides stay well-behaved off it.
