This symposium, co-hosted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and the South Africa Office of Oxfam, drew together individuals and organisations working in the areas of violence, conflict and peace-building. Here, the author discusses the impact of displacement (because of war) on families in Angola and Mozambique, and is specifically concerned with its effects on women and young people, who are believed to suffer the most profound psycho-social damage in these circumstances.