It’s now two days to Christmas, Kenya is in a holiday mood, young, old, poor and the rich are all looking forward to the 25 day of December when the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated.

This is a time when families, friends gather together for a reunion after a long time of separation. This year’s Christmas is rather unique to Kenyans since last year’s was not well celebrated due to the general election which took place two days after Christmas.

However, with the economic recession that has bedeviled the world, a good number of people will still not be able to celebrate Christmas according to their norm.

The most hit are the Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) who eleven months after being displaced due to the disputed results of the general election still live in deplorable conditions.

Thousands of those displaced will have their Christmas in camps where they were temporarily settled until a long time solution is found. But even after such a long time, a solution is still being sought while the IDPs continue to suffer in their camps as even the basic commodities are hard to come by.

The government has failed to fulfill its promise of settling the IDPs before the end of the year leave alone providing them with food and medical care. The politicians too whom many Kenyans largely blame for what the country went through at the beginning of this year have also retracted from helping the displaced most of whom lost everything to the chaos.

In a recent drive launched by an FM station to raise help/donations for the displaced during the festive season, only one politician and an assistant to the Prime Minister who committed his December salary to the help of the displaced.

Most politicians have so far proved reluctant to this call which is more explained by their sheer contempt to a proposal to tax their allowances. The government has failed to fulfill its responsibility of helping and protecting IDPs.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy 2009.