In Indonesia, today's earthquake in northern Sumatra will have been more than just physically unsettling. Many inhabitants of that island will have vivid memories of the Boxing Day tsunami, whose 12th anniversary approaches.
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What we remember and forget defines us.
Those who remember the siege of Sarajevo are bound to feel differently to those who do not about the siege of eastern Aleppo.
Those who recall the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq are bound to feel more cautious about the appointment of Mike Flynn as national security adviser than those for whom it is seen only through hindsight.
And those who remember reading and hearing about the rise of fascism in Weimar Germany - or who lived through it, though their number is now small - are bound to feel differently about Angela Merkel's discussion of Muslims and the question of whether the world is "coming apart at the seams".
What we remember and what we recognise vary from person to person. But unless we share our memories, the sense that nothing can stop this shaking is only likely to increase. And our reactions are likely to make things worse, rather than better.
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