(LOUGA) - In the northern Senegalese town of Louga most inhabitants depend on money sent from abroad to live but the financial crisis means immigrants in Europe have less money to send.

European ministers host African counterparts at a conference in Paris on Tuesday hoping to mobilize them fight illegal immigration, but it will be difficult for countries like Senegal which rely heavily on funds sent back from expatriates, both legal and illegal.

"There are financial difficulties in Italy so Modou, my husband, an illegal immigrant in Milan, has not been sending money for the last two months," said 30-something Marieme Fall, smartly dressed in blue and yellow traditional garb.

"Life in Italy has become very difficult," she said, adding that the family had only received two money orders of 100,000 CFA francs (150 euros, 192 dollars) since September.

The money did not come from Marieme's husband but his two brothers, one of whom works in a garment factory in Venice and the other as an illegal street vendor.

Senegal is a poor West African country with more than 11 million inhabitants and a very strong tradition of migration, both legal and illegal. Remittances from emigrants are higher than foreign aid from states.

In Louga, a town of some 120,000 inhabitants 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north of the capital Dakar, Marieme lives in the spacious two-story house of her father-in-law, 69-year-old Mamadou Diop.

Some 20 people live in the house but they are all women, children and elderly people. All the young men have left to work in Europe.

Every month Marieme waits for money from Europe to help pay the family's food and her four children's school fees.

In another house in the neighbourhood the Lo family is also having trouble making ends meet.

"The water bill, the phone bill, the electricity, the children's school fees and the food we eat are all paid for by my sons who are in France, Spain and Italy," 75-year-old Massamba Lo said.

"Nobody in my family works here in Louga, only my son Ibou who came back from Italy four years ago works in Dakar where he imports containers with goods he re-sells. His four other brothers live in Italy, France and two in Spain".

"The house adapts to the rhythm of the European economy (...) we are currently affected by the financial crisis in Europe because my eldest son Oumar in Barcelona, who used to send more than his other brothers for the family, cannot do that anymore," Massamba explained.

Oumar used to send 250,000 CFA francs each month but recently he has only been able to send 100,000 at most for his three wives and 13 children in Louga, his father laments.

Faced with the effects of the economic crisis in Europe the elderly Senegalese heads of household tell AFP they are trying to cut down on expenses.

"I am going to keep an eye on the electricity we use and the water we drink. I'll put locks on the taps," Mamadou said. He was also planning to cut the amount of rice the family consumes.

Second Euro-African Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development

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