Barack Obama and (right) his lookalike Ilham Anas.
What's it like to be the spitting image of the most photographed face in the world? When I catch up with Ilham Anas – AKA the president of the United States – he can't talk for long; he is on the back of a scooter(小型摩托车) in his home city of Bandung on the island of Java, racing between "jobs" as Obama.
Since Barack Obama's improbable(不大可能的) rise to the presidency, 36-year-old Anas's life has taken a similarly unlikely turn. The prominent ears(招风耳) that made him self-conscious as a child, he says, have become his fortune; a photographer by trade, Anas has found a new career as the leading presidential doppelganger(如出一辙的事物).
Now he travels the world, lending his likeness to various charities and causes; he recently spoke at a Greenpeace rally in Thailand urging global leaders (including his own double) to do more to address climate change. Anas has appeared in several TV ads, including a bizarre commercial for a Philippine heartburn(心灼热) medication, in which he is overfed by a woman impersonating(扮演) the former president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo.
Anas says he is a huge fan of Obama, and is careful with the work he chooses, refusing jobs he feels might be controversial or reflect badly on his famous twin. So uncanny(不寻常的) is the likeness that he regularly gets stopped in airports by Obama admirers. He has taken to wearing a hat and sunglasses on the street to avoid the inevitable questions. Obama's rise has changed Anas's life, and his view of himself, as he recounts in his autobiography, Because of Obama. "I see my resemblance to Obama as a blessing," he says. "I used to look at the mirror and I had a negative perception of myself."
Anas has a similar heritage to his hero, being of Kenyan and American descent. He also shares the president's love of a quiet cigarette. But there are differences too. "One thing I could not mimic(模仿) is his voice. Obama has a baritone(男中音) voice; mine is like a child's," says Anas. He is also a devout(虔诚的) Muslim; he can be seen praying in a video on the Time magazine website. His faith, he says, guides his family and professional life.
Indonesians delighted in Obama's election in 2008; he was seen as one of their own. Obama spent four years in Jakarta as a boy in the late 60s, and his stepfather was Javanese. But two cancelled trips last year saw the ardour(热情) cool a little. A statue of a young Obama was removed from a central Jakartan park in February after a Facebook campaign by Indonesians who argued he had not done enough to deserve the tribute. The statue now stands in the yard of his childhood school.
Anas noticed demand for his presidential services wane(变小) in his homeland, despite the continuing flood of international requests. But much was restored(恢复) by the presidential visit last month, despite it being cut short because of fears that volcanic ash(火山灰) spewing from Mount Merapi could cause Air Force One to be grounded(飞机停飞).
"Obama used Bahasa Indonesia [the national language] in his speech, and he got enthusiastic(满腔热情的) applause," says Anas. "He talked about his experience in his village in Jakarta as a four-year-old and his deep feelings for our country. He showed us how humble he is, that he is warm and sincere."
Anas, however, missed Obama's trip to Indonesia. He was in the US . . . playing Obama.