The contagion is spreading and getting nearer and nearer. Slowly and inexorably, we are being sucked into the Libyan vortex. We have misplaced fears, amplified by the terrible ISIS propaganda videos of beheadings and worse.

True, there is ISIS next door in Libya, maybe even in Italy and maybe, according to what some say, even here in Malta. That’s enough to cause sleepless nights to people who are apprehensive, without one shred of evidence that ISIS are out to attack Malta.

But in the immediate, there is a more pressing and real threat to our collective future and that is Libya, the Libya now split into so many factions and so many groups, one does not know what to believe and who is right.

Libya is here, right here. We have become the offshore of Libya, the place where Libyans of all types seek refuge and some sanity.

There was a rumour last week that the Tobruk government, the one that is still the only recognised government internationally, was about to seek refuge in Malta. Later, that rumour was quashed. Had it happened, one cannot see how the government could have resisted the relocation of a government in exile on Maltese shores.

Even without that, however, I note increased agitation among the Libyans in Malta.

Over the past weeks, this agitation has broadened from the writings of single individuals to specific Facebook pages that now say what has been whispered in ears for months.

We had a Libya conference organised by Maltese and this has spawned a myriad reactions against what was said or not said by the speakers.

The contagion has now reached the government with the self-declared Tripoli government publicly accusing the Government of Malta without the Government of Malta replying.

Reading between the lines, one could also sense the factions in Libya speaking about the Maltese government as one split into two factions; and that is not the government and the Opposition but the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister. Whether this split exists or not I cannot say, but one can readily see a Libyan propensity for seeing splits and divisions everywhere in all this.

Although there is basic agreement and unity between the positions of the government and that of the Opposition, there is no such unity among the people of Malta, whatever and beyond their partisan stances.

Over the past years there has been a split between those totally against the immigrants and those who believed these were unfortunate people who must be helped.

The current ISIS phobia has deepened and widened the division. But people at large, I have found, have no clear idea what is happening and what the issues at stake are. Nor, as I think I said in past weeks, have they a clear idea about the situation on the ground, beyond the media stereotyping as seen from faraway countries like the US.

We speak of the Libyans in Malta without knowing even the basic facts, such as how many Libyans are there in Malta at present?

The Libyans here come in many guises and factions. There are the Gaddafi supporters, who are generally richer and have been here longest. These have well-honed relations with key Maltese.

Then there are those who flocked here during the uprising and afterwards, during the civil war. In many cases, they have been rendered not just homeless but also penniless, depending on the charity of relatives.

We do not know enough to distinguish one group from another, but they know each other and they know very well who’s who.

In many cases, they still have relatives over there and the links across the sea are still working, through phone and even through people crossing over.

Over the past week, there have been appeals for the government to help the Maltese who invested there and have fallen on hard times. All this is good and important, but the contagion is here: it is not enough to speak of helping the Maltese with interests over there. One must perhaps also speak of helping people who are not Maltese and who have come here for protection and who have ended up without money. Somehow, it is clear these people must be helped too, at least on humanitarian grounds.

(Otherwise, and this is no threat but real, word about their treatment, or lack of, in Malta may get out and reach people in Libya who may then decide to take action, such action as they know, against the relative Maltese investment over there).

Then we come to the official level. There is, on one level, the question of diplomatic recognition on the one side and the lack of recognition on the other. I am not versed in diplomatic parlance but maybe the just solution would be that adopted by Bernardino Leon who is talking to all sides and keeping channels open to all sides. We have to follow international rules but we also have our national sovereignty and security to consider. I am sure past masters in our diplomacy, and here respect stops me from pointing them out, would have been able to somehow keep channels open to all sides.

At this point, maybe it would be better if we stayed out of the conflict, which is a conflict that does not involve us and which we do not understand, anyway. Having said that, I find it difficult not to take sides against ISIS.

Should Malta join in any eventual fight against ISIS in any guise, or should it sit this out too? This is a dilemma that other countries face, such as Italy, and maybe Italy is as vulnerable as we are, if not more. One argument is that Malta must not act unless it is under attack, which can be countered by someone pointing out that if we leave it till then, it could be too late.

Certainly, as I said last week, we must take immediate steps to boost our security. Estonia, which is under a very different threat, that of Russia, is taking steps to reintroduce military service. It has often happened that we had no idea of boat people coming here until they actually landed here, let alone any eventual military excursion.

Fundamentally, this is an urgent appeal to bolster and boost our national identity which we have let deteriorate far, far more than any self-respecting nation should. Faced with such a threat, all those who are here, including immigrants and, why not, the Libyans who are here themselves, who have so much to lose, must adopt a common stand and look at themselves as people of different origins who are on the same island. In other words, more than ethnic origins, and speaking the same language, the fact of being here should bind us together and give us a sense of national unity.

We are different here because we choose to be different. We are here because we like the way we are. Otherwise, it makes no sense for people to come here to create a replica of the situation they have run away from.

All this is not as easy as it seems, and we can still find ourselves sucked into the Libyan vortex. The past months have seen us sliding into this vortex without even noticing it or helping it.

As we go about our daily conflicts, whether they be partisan, or about spring hunting or the one and many issues we speak about on a daily basis, maybe the saner minds among us will focus on the really essential issue facing our future.