As the sun went down marking Christmas Eve, children like Nayak can hardly hide their glee in anticipation of the night-long celebration inside the relief camp operating at Vijaya High School. “Though the celebration at home would have been better, still I am happy that we can celebrate Christmas. My brothers and I were given new clothes by the relief camp people. This morning we had lunch of rice and mutton curry,” said Nayak, who is staying in the relief camp with his parents and siblings after their house in Tiangia village was burnt by a mob in August.

Like Nayak, there are still 8500-odd Christians living in three relief camps operating in the district, four months after the worst-ever communal violence in Orissa resulted in 44 deaths, 4000 houses burnt and 190 churches and prayer houses damaged across the district. But on the night of Christmas-eve, the 2700-odd Christians in the Raikia relief camp, heavily guarded by gun-toting CRPF men, seemed determined to forget the horrors of the past four months.

At least 30 churches in the district have been given security for Christmas celebrations.

As scores of CRPF jawans cordoned the relief camp in Raikia, frisking each and every inmate and visitor and keeping an eye on potential troublemakers, the inmates living inside the camps started pitching tents for the midnight mass. “Last year, we could not celebrate Christmas due to riots. God has kept us alive even after the riots. Even if the police were not there to protect us, we would have gone ahead and celebrated the festival,” said Bipin Nayak, whose younger brother Bikram Nayak was one of the first persons to be killed in the riots this August.

This sentiment is echoed by Shaila Pradhan, a middle-aged woman from Dandapanga village. “I have lost my house, but after coming to the relief camp I don’t feel scared. I will be awake tonight to pray to Jesus,” said Pradhan, watched by CRPF jawans on the rooftops of Vijaya High School building.

Though the proposed bandh by the Sangh Parivar was called off, officials did not seem to be taking any chances. “Kandhamal SP Praveen Kumar and I are touring all the potential trouble spots of the district since this morning. We will visit each and every relief camp and churches till early morning hour,” said Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar.

Rev Prakash Nayak, superintendent of Free Methodist Church of India in Raikia, says that it’s been a trying experience organising Christmas 2008. “It’s a difficult task to organize X-mas celebrations when peoples’ lives have been torn apart. The inmates of relief camps are still scared to go to their homes. But life has to go on.”

Meanwhile, the Centre today pressed helicopters to conduct surveillance in Kandhamal and Sambalpur after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asking him to take necessary steps for protecting the lives and property of the people.