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When I began the journey into learning and participating in the Model Organization of American States (MOAS) as the Head Delegate of Jamaica, I knew very little about the Organization of the American States. I knew close to nothing about the workings of diplomacy or the ideals of multilateralism, model of best practices, and Pan-Americanism. When I found out that Tulane was going to represent Jamaica, I was even more anxious because out of any region in Latin America, I have studied the Caribbean the least. So, I did as any student of the twenty-first century would do, I rushed to the Internet and googled “Organization of the American States” (OAS). The website of the OAS gave a brief description of how it “brings together the nations of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation on democratic values, defend common interests and debate the major issues facing the region and the world. The OAS is the region’s principal multilateral forum for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, and confronting shared problems such as poverty, terrorism, illegal drugs and corruption.” This sounded very interesting but very marketed. Going to the model let me feel and understand what this definition really means and see first hand how these ideals play out in the meetings.
Going into the model, I did not believe that diplomatic meetings and a large organization based in Washington, DC, like the OAS, really accomplished a hemisphere wide and non US-centered approach. My liberal academic upbringing has shown me that too often the United States has dominated and ruined policy formulation throughout Latin America. However, my idea of the OAS slightly changed after I participated in the MOAS. The OAS is a tool that countries use to promote and/or defend their own national agendas, while simultaneously attempting to keep the support of neighbors and strengthen the hemisphere as a whole. I learned diplomacy is like learning to dance, you have to know when to lead and when to follow, and you need to watch out to not step on the wrong foot. This taught me that many countries can utilize these diplomatic meetings for their own use, and it often does provide a means to voice an opinion that otherwise would go unheard. It is true, that often the legislation is US-centered, but the Latin American countries do fight back. (As we did see when Hugo Chavez gave President Obama the book about the plight of Latin America, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, at the Summit of the Americas). I also learned that many times diplomatic policies are created adding caveats to specifically address helping smaller economies that have not historically had a voice, but that it is the implementation of these policies has been difficult.
Representing Jamaica, a country with a small economy, was a great experience to learn how to be a diplomat. In the model, I learned how to do the diplomatic dance: I learned how to lead CARICOM, the region in which Jamaica has comparably the largest economy; I learned how to follow larger countries such as Canada and the United States on which Jamaica’s trade, aid and loans rely so much; and I learned how to avoid the feet of anybody who could in the end hurt Jamaica’s possibility to speak and get Jamaica’s resolutions and agendas passed.
At a break during the model I headed to the Starbuck’s to pick up a grande non-fat latte and take advantage of the wifi to use my iphone to call through skype. A man approached me and he asked, “Excuse me, are you Jamaican?” He must of seen my name tag: “Head Delegate of Jamaica.” I smiled. After a semester of intense study of the history and culture, reading the Jamaican online newspaper everyday, and especially after an rigorous week debate with 32 other countries to ensure Jamaica’s best position, I had acquired a feeling of Jamaicanism.
