BBC Scotland's social affairs reporter Fiona Walker has followed two of the families from a refugee camp in Northern Zambia to their new home in Motherwell.

We often hear the stories of asylum seekers or refugees living in Scotland

But it is very difficult to put yourself in their shoes, to truly understand what they have been through.

The terminology is usually "fleeing persecution" - but what does that really mean?

Let me introduce the Luvunzu family and the Kasokota family.

The Luvunzu family and the Kasokota family wait to move

I met them in Kala Refugee Camp in Northern Zambia after they had been selected to come and live in Scotland.

They were to be given automatic refugee status because they had already been assessed by the United Nations, and Home Office staff, as being unable to return to their home country.

They are considered to be some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

Louvain and Therese Luvunzus had become involved in the camp schools.

Louvain as a primary teacher and Therese as a secondary school deputy head.

Their children, Gloria and Felly, were born as they moved from village to village in The Democratic Republic of Congo setting up home to escape further violence.

Dead bodies

They find it very hard to talk about what they have witnessed but Therese describes what it is like to be on the run from militia.

She said: "When we were running away on the road, for example, you would see one of your friends being shot, or maybe someone with a baby on her back and you would see the bullets going into the baby, you would see the blood leaking and realise that the baby is dead.

"Such things used to happen when we were fleeing. Seeing dead bodies on the ground. On our way we would be taken and locked up somewhere in order to kill you. By God's grace, we were saved."

Louvain says the rebels are still living amongst them in the refugee camp.

"I ask myself every time I see these people - what can I do to go somewhere where I don't have to meet them so they won't be able to do what they did to me? Where can I go so I won't have to go through that again? I need to leave here just to find peace."

Three-year-old Felly is to begin a new life in Motherwell

Just because you've fled the bloodiest conflict since World War II, does not mean you will be eligible for "resettlement" under the Gateway Protection Programme.

Only a few per cent of those who escaped to Zambia during Congo's civil war meet the criteria.

Most of them have been raped, tortured or witnessed the murder of family members.

Gateway is a legal route for particularly vulnerable refugees to reach safety without being driven into the hands of people traffickers.

Rebel soldiers

The Kasokota family were also on the run with their daughter Marie-Claire.

Marie had already escaped death and was now eight months pregnant when her husband, Justin, was captured by rebel soldiers and badly beaten.

She thought he was dead and made it to Zambia where she gave birth to his child, naming the baby Justin after her husband.

The father says he was rescued just in time before he was due to be murdered.

He was then treated by the Red Cross.

When he made it to Zambia he found his family and his new son.

Justin Kasokota said: "When the soldiers saw me, they said, oh, this is the friend of those senior army officers so we have to arrest him because those officers used to sleep with our wives.

They are being resettled under the Gateway Protection Programme.

"Then they put me in front of a tree to kill me."

These families spent years in the camp, nervous of the nearby Congo border.

It was an in-between life, caught in limbo with nowhere to go.

They built their own homes and got involved in church and school life but as refugees they could not be self-sufficient.

After a rigorous assessment, they were offered the chance of a new beginning.

North Lanarkshire Council had signed up to take the first Gateway Refugees in Scotland.

It was extraordinary to think that these people would soon be living with electricity, furniture and clean running water.

But for them it is more basic than that - they simply want to feel safe from blackmail, rape and torture.

Front door key

The idea of having a trustworthy emergency number and police to keep the peace gives them tremendous peace of mind.

When they arrived at Motherwell train station, I was the only person they recognised.

I've seen them try to get to grips with life in Scotland, picking up limited English.

Imagine getting used to using a front door key, a tin opener, paying household bills.

I'm trying hard to comprehend what it's like not knowing what we grow accustomed to during childhood: don't touch electrical sockets with wet hands; a green man means you can cross the road and who to trust and who to be wary of.

The families had been staying at a refugee camp in Northern Zambia

The Luvunzus and the Kasokotas are people who have always been able to contribute to society, with positions of influence in their community.

Here, without the ability to communicate, they feel stripped of that ability to take part.

Louvain says until he speaks English better he won't be free.

He sits up late at night with a dictionary ready to surprise me with his new vocabulary.

English lessons have now started, provided by North Lanarkshire Council and funded by The Home Office.

The families are making progress already and before long the children will be speaking with Scottish accents.

They have the help of local volunteers to provide friendship and guidance.

Given what these families have endured, it shouldn't be long before they will be ready to play a full part in Scottish life.

A BBC Scotland documentary will the integration of the families will be shown in the summer.