Abstract
During the past two decades South Africa has increasingly become a host society for many forcibly displaced families from across the sub-Saharan region. This article draws on some of the findings of a qualitative study with the aim to investigate the impact of forced migration on the daily lives of refugee women and their families as well as their experiences in trying to integrate into the host society. The research population constitutes refugees from the conflict ridden countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe who reside in the inner-city areas of Tshwane and Johannesburg. Ager and Strang's (2008) conceptual framework, which uses indicators of integration experiences, proved useful as an analytical lens. In discussing the findings specific reference is made to (a) markers and means of integration, (b) processes of social connection, and (c) facilitators of integration. The data revealed that Zimbabwean respondents and their families were slightly better off than the Congolese and Burundian participants in terms of social connection and means to achieve integration into the South African host society.