Lamine Diakhate, 69, Senegalese born in Dakar but in Italy for 18 years, has become an Italian citizen .

He took the oath this morning at the Palazzo del Marchese, the institutional seat of the Municipality of Porto Torres , in front of the civil state officer and the mayor of Porto Torres, Massimo Mulas , the city that welcomed him and where he decided to stop dedicating himself to fishing.

Skilled fisherman and naval engineer for 12 years aboard the fishing boats of the Rum family company, he fought hard to make his dream come true.

Lamine was notified, on July 18, of a copy of the decree of the President of the Republic which granted him Italian citizenship .

"For us it is a source of pride and we welcome you with open arms," said the mayor.

Married and father of eight children in Senegal , Lamine Diakhate emotionally declared: "I thank the people who have been close to me and have helped me achieve this goal, which at first seemed impossible ".

Then he gave special thanks to his colleagues at work. “The fear vanished thanks to the work that was offered to me by the Rum family - he added - who welcomed me like all the other collaborators of the company. Thanks also to the whole community of Porto Torres ”.