The news that Islamic State supporters might have made gains and taken over a small desert town did not make many waves in Malta yesterday, after a report in the Libya Herald stated that the Daesh had taken control of a small desert town called Nawfaliya.

The fact that they were doing battle with Libya Dawn – allied to Tripoli – also failed to ruffle any feathers and the comments board on our website remained quiet. The news that the Daesh had potentially taken over a town – albeit a small one – seemed to not worry anyone, despite the fact that they already have a presence in Dernah, a city of some 100,000.

But the minute that UNHCR representative to Malta Jon Hoisaeter’s comments to parliament’s Social Affairs Committee were uploaded, public opinion exploded.

Mr Hoisaeter stated that Malta should prepare for a potential upsurge in arrivals from Libya itself. He did not express judgment, he did not preach and he did not pontificate. He merely pointed out that Malta better be ready, and that the government ought to touch base with the European Union and Italy at the soonest possible opportunity. The comments board went wild.

News outlets in Malta – this one included – have long been posing the questions about what the state is doing in terms of acknowledging the fact that Libya is fast becoming a failed state. We have a potential Somalia or Syria on our doorstep.

These past weeks, we have probed and pushed in terms of news stories and leading articles, asking what the government is doing with regard to the threat of Daesh on our doorstep and any potential threats to our security. We have only been met with denial after denial.

It is clear that there are many Libyans who have found their way into Malta to escape the strife in their home country. Up till now, they can still get here by conventional means, by taking flights directly out of Libya, by driving to neighbouring countries and taking a flight from there, or by sea.

But what will happen if Libya shuts down? The answer is simple. The same dinghies (and now pre-programmed ships) that ferried sub-Saharans here will in the future be packed to the brim with Libyan nationals. The repercussions are huge. How will Malta deal with this influx? We are not talking about a steady and managed trickle of Africans, we are talking about the metropolis of Tripoli and others from Misrata and Benghazi. We could be talking of tens of thousands. We do not mean to sow seeds of worry or alarmism, but the government needs to tell its people what is happening. What are the contingency plans? Have we even thought about the fact that detention might give rise to allowing planted Daesh recruiters radicalising people who are held in detention to take up the bloody and barbaric cause that the self-proclaimed caliphate wants them to? This is not alarmism, this is reality. We need to acknowledge it, and we need to do it fast. Malta needs to be ready. This is what is unfolding around us at this very moment. Right now.