I Forgive the Man Who Took Me Hostage

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Geert Kruit was just nine years old when four gunmen seized his primary school in the town of Bovensmilde in the Netherlands in 1977. Geert was held hostage for four days, along with 104 other children and their five teachers. One of the attackers was Tom Polnaija. Forty years on, the two men are now friends. Geert told Matthew Bannister about his life before the siege. Image (L): Geert Kruit as a child Credit: Geert Kruit