The best-laid plans of mice and men go awry.

No one knows this better than the countries who are trying to move away from Soviet communism. While there is reform, some feel it’s not moving quickly enough and others can’t seem to see where it’s going.

Whatever the case, people have learned the journey toward new governments won’t be easy. And, at least in the case of the Soviet Union, the country’s criminals are caught in the crossfire.

Prison conditions beyond the Iron Curtain are worse than some of the horror stories heard in America. According to this week’s Newsweek, people charged with crimes wait in jail for the government to investigate their cases.

Many of the jails are unhabitable. More than 66 percent of the cells have no heat or toilets. However, that doesn’t stop those who make it out from coming back.

According to Newsweek, 62 percent of Soviet prisoners aren’t first-time guests of the government. And, prison conditions don’t make for a very pretty stay.

Since March of 1989, prisoners killed or hurt 126 guards. The number of crimes committed has skyrocketed; assaults alone are up 64 percent so far this year.

Conditions are worse in the prison camps, where inmates work as slaves, are beaten and live in isolation much of the time.

Obviously, as the country tries to change its ways, prison reform is high on the list. But, the government doesn’t see it that way.

In a time of Soviet economic dire straits, the prison system is a money maker. The government is blessed by cheap labor that gets things done. However, when the prisoners get out—many hardened by their sentences—they return to crime and further strain on the economy.

The reformers are tugging even harder for more money. Last month, the Soviet Internal Ministry asked for $5.6 billion to reform the worst prison camps. They also want half of the profit from the prisons for prison reform.

It’ll probably happen, Newsweek predicts. Also, President Mikhail Gorbachev is releasing Soviet dissidents to repent for what the magazine called “decades of human hell.”

But where’s all the reform leading? No one knows; anarchy hasn’t been crossed off the list. To some, who felt achieving democracy would be easy, they’re now realizing it’s like “building a house from the roof down.”

Frustrated students, who think reform efforts are dragging, are protesting and finding themselves the victims of the protested system of government that’s still lingering.

The leaders who are pushing the reform are just as frustrated. Every model of democracy they try to use falls through.

Unfortunately, if a solution isn’t found soon, the countries pushing for reform could be pushing themselves off cliffs. As long as the government leaders can’t find the destination, it’ll be like getting lost in Chicago with little gas in the tank and no money to buy more.

The way out of this—just as for the lost driver in Chicago—is to stop completely and find the final destination. Otherwise, they’ll just be running out of gas on the way to the best place in their lives.